C18 Your Ye Luo

"Are you flirting with me, miss? Believe me, I could just gobble you up," Ye Luo said with a chuckle.

"Hehe, I don't buy that," Ann Xin replied with a playful flick of her tongue. "Now, go on and take your shower."

Ye Luo nodded in agreement. Indeed, he had been reborn today and had spent half the day fighting, breaking out in quite a sweat. It was definitely time to clean up. More importantly, while waiting for Ann Xin to shower, he had let his mind wander, becoming restless. A cold shower would help settle his thoughts.

Ye Luo quickly made his way to the shower.

Sitting on the bed, Ann Xin watched his silhouette. An unusual expression crossed her innocent, lovely face.

"Brother Ye Luo, is it really you?" she murmured.

Everything felt so unreal to Ann Xin. The Ye Luo she knew from school was a loner, plagued by insecurity, labeled as worthless by his peers.

Even when Ann Xin had pursued him, he barely dared to return her gaze.

Truthfully, there were times when even Ann Xin felt a deep sense of disappointment and pain.

But today, in her moments of despair and helplessness, it was Ye Luo who had arrived just in time, stepping in effortlessly to resolve her troubles.

Could this be the same Ye Luo who was once so withdrawn and disparaged?

"I hope I'm not dreaming," Ann Xin whispered, biting her lip gently before drifting off to sleep.

When Ye Luo emerged from the bathroom, Ann Xin was already asleep. She had been through a lot today, with the incidents at the Supreme Wealthy Class and the hospital taking their toll.

Approaching the bed, Ye Luo gazed at Ann Xin's youthful yet resilient face, feeling a surge of compassion.

In his past life, he remembered, Ann Xin juggled school with tutoring jobs to earn money, all while caring for her ill mother. Her life had been incredibly hard.

She could have chosen a wealthy suitor to improve her plight, yet she had chosen him, a decision that puzzled Ye Luo to this day.

But Ann Xin had endured enough hardship in her previous life. This time around, things would be different.

Ye Luo tenderly tucked Ann Xin in with a blanket. As he was about to settle himself on the sofa for the night, Ann Xin's grip on his wrist stopped him.

"Ye Luo, don't leave. I'm scared," she whispered.

Ye Luo bent down and gently patted Ann Xin's hand. "Don't worry, I'll stay right here with you."

"No, I'm still scared. I need you to hold me," Ann Xin murmured, her voice a blend of dreaming and wakefulness, her eyes shimmering with tears that evoked deep compassion.

After a moment's hesitation, Ye Luo lay down beside her and tenderly embraced her.

That night, Ann Xin slept peacefully in Ye Luo's arms, while many in Linhai City remained restless.

In an upscale villa neighborhood of Linhai, a middle-aged woman was furiously chastising a group of black-clad bodyguards in a frenzy.

"Useless, all of you! The Gu family spends millions every year on your salaries to protect my son. And now? If anything happens to him, I swear you'll all pay with your lives!"

"Enough, isn't this vexing?" a middle-aged man retorted, lounging on the sofa, his once stern and dignified face now etched with concern.

"How dare you raise your voice at me? Your son has been beaten to a pulp, and you're not even fuming? I insist that the brute who harmed my son be captured and punished severely!" the woman wailed hysterically.

The man, Gu Xianchang, chairman of the Xiangshi Group in Linhai City, was also Gu Jun's father.

He had received word of Gu Jun's savage beating at the Supreme Wealthy Class, and it was beyond his comprehension that anyone in Linhai City would dare lay hands on his son.

"Ah Cheng, have we figured out what happened?" Gu Xianchang inquired of a tall, burly man beside him.

"We have. The perpetrator is named Ye Luo, a student at Linhai University. It appears that Gu Jun took a liking to a girl named Ann Xin, who is Ye Luo's girlfriend. Ann Xin seemed unwilling, and so..."

By then, Gu Xianchang had pretty much understood the situation.

He knew his son's character all too well; the number of women he had wronged was almost uncountable. It looked like this time his son had crossed paths with a headstrong young man who didn't consider the Gu family's standing.

"This wayward son of mine," Gu Xianchang sighed, "I always knew he would eventually bring trouble upon himself."

"What do you mean by that, Gu Xianchang? Our son has been brutally assaulted, and you're still finding fault with him? He was merely smitten with a woman—a woman who should feel blessed to have caught our son's attention. It's her good fortune, yet she dares to be ungrateful. Where is she? Find her at once. I want her to answer for what she's done to my son!" the woman fumed with rage.

"What's Gu Tianxiong's reaction to all this? After all, the Supreme Wealthy Class is his territory. Our son was attacked on his watch; what does he have to say?" Gu Xianchang asked.

"I've sent someone to Gu Tianxiong's camp, but they're calling it a personal dispute between guests, saying it has nothing to do with the Supreme Wealthy Class. They suggested we call the police if we have an issue," Ah Cheng informed him.

"Call the police?" A sinister look of malice flashed across Gu Xianchang's face. "Gu Tianxiong probably thinks this is amusing. Gu Jun might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he's still my son, Gu Xianchang's son. He's not someone people can mess with without consequences. Tomorrow, take a team to Linhai University and bring me Ye Luo. My son has suffered—I demand a tenfold retribution."

"Once you've captured him, bring him to me. I want her to regret ever crossing paths with us!" the woman hissed through clenched teeth.

"Understood. I'll handle it," was the response.

The next morning, Ann Xin woke up in Ye Luo's arms and realized it was already past eight. She had been so exhausted that she slept right through her alarm and forgot about school.

"Oh my goodness, I'm late, so very late!" Ann Xin panicked, leaping out of bed.

Ye Luo, who had just come in with breakfast, witnessed her frantic awakening. "Well, look who's up. Good morning, Sleepyhead."

Hearing Ye Luo's teasing, Ann Xin instinctively covered her chest and looked at him with a mix of shock and embarrassment. It took her a moment to remember the previous day's events, her face turning a deep shade of red as she quickly grabbed her clothes and rushed into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, hand in hand, Ye Luo escorted Ann Xin out of the hospital.

"Ye Luo, Chen Junjie... he won't seek revenge, will he? My mom is still in the hospital," Ann Xin expressed her concerns with a worried tone.

"Don't worry. As long as Chen Junjie and Lu Mingxiang aren't fools, I doubt they would do something foolish. Of course, if they are, I wouldn't mind giving them a proper lesson," Ye Luo said, giving Ann Xin's hand a reassuring squeeze. Feeling the warmth from Ye Luo's palm, Ann Xin's worries dissipated.

"Why are you looking at me like that? I mean, I am quite handsome," Ye Luo said with a playful smile.

"Ye Luo, I've noticed something—you're different," Ann Xin remarked.

"Different how?"

"I'm not sure, but you just seem different."

"Don't worry. No matter what changes, I will always be your Ye Luo. And you, you're mine—there's no escaping that."

In the Polymer Class One at Linhai University's Material Science College, Hsu Danian looked worriedly at the empty seat next to him. One class had already passed, and Ye Luo still hadn't arrived.

"Hmph, Hsu Danian, I didn't expect you to be so lucky, to come back to class alive. But it seems your good buddy Ye Luo isn't quite as fortunate," Wang Ping said with a sneer as she approached Hsu Danian.

Startled, Hsu Danian ran his hand through his hair and saw his ex-girlfriend, Wang Ping. To his surprise, she was now linked arm in arm with another man.